Donald Trump has revealed that his offer to purchase land close to Ground Zero in New York has been refused.

The Apprentice star admitted that he offered to purchase an area allotted to a possible mosque near the site of the former World Trade Center for 25% more than it is worth in order to keep the peace, but was denied by the owner of the land.

In an appearance on Larry King Live, he explained: "I called [the owner of the land] and he started bragging to me about what a great deal he made. I said, 'Well, why don't you sell it, I'll give you your money back... I'll give you your money back, I'll give you a 25% increase, I'll pay your costs, I'll pay everything, and we'll end this whole fiasco'. And he said, 'No, no, no, I wouldn't do that. This is worth $18 million or $20 million'.

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"I guess he turned it down, but something should be done, because I'll tell you what, it's only going to get worse."

Trump went on to urge Muslim activist Feisal Abdul Rauf - who originally proposed the site - to locate a less controversial area to build the worship centre.

"I think he'd do tremendous goodwill. He'd show tremendous goodwill if he [moved it]. And there's ill will if he doesn't move. And this isn't going to go away," he said.

"I see the people down there, hundreds and hundreds of people, they're not going anywhere. These are people that lost their husbands, their wives, their sons, their daughters in the World Trade Center."